


Rings

by WrathoftheStag (Mwuahna)



Series: Giving Themselves [16]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: M/M, engagements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9716999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mwuahna/pseuds/WrathoftheStag
Summary: A new installment of the Giving Themselves series.  Picks up afterAfterglow.  Will proposed to Hannibal, and now they are shopping for rings.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zacharybosch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zacharybosch/gifts).



> Happiest of birthdays, Zacharybosch! Can't wait to see you again at RDC3.

“You’re not going to get me something as pedestrian as a diamond, are you?” Will asked as they strolled through the Fell's Point antique market on a Sunday afternoon.

Hannibal sipped his coffee, and delicately shrugged. “What if _I_ would like to have a diamond?”

Will stopped to look at an old Rollex 20 camera at a nearby booth, the seller was asking for $50. He clicked the shutter a few times then gingerly put it back down on the table.

“With all your pomp and circumstance,” Will said with a smirk, “I really can’t picture you as a diamond guy.”

Hannibal smiled and stroked Will’s arm.

“You know me so well, Will. You do. No, no diamonds for either of us. But I can say I don’t have any idea of what to get. There are several jewelry shops here that we can visit and perhaps something will jump out at us.”

Will took Hannibal’s coffee, drank a sip, then returned it.

“We don’t have to get rings, you know. I mean, if we don’t find anything we like, we don’t _need_ rings, Hannibal.”

“I want us to have them. I want others to look at your hand, at my hand, and know we are spoken for.”

Hannibal stopped in front of Will and continued, “I want people to know that you belong to someone, just as I belong to someone.”

Will blushed and said, “Fine. So let’s go look for some rings.”

They entered Rose and Stone Estate Jewelry. It was a tiny shoe box of a shop with red walls and a dark mahogany case, lined with red velvet.

“May I help you?” the woman behind the counter asked.

“Yes, we are looking for wedding rings,” Hannibal said.

“Traditional bands? I do have some matching sets. We also have some new rings that aren’t vintage but our own creations as well.”

Will looked into the glass case, “I don’t mind traditional bands, I suppose.”

“We have platinum, yellow, rose and white gold. Any preference?”

Will said, “Yellow” just as Hannibal said, “Platinum.”

They both smiled and looked at each other. 

“They don’t have to match, I guess,” Will said.

“I would rather they did,” Hannibal replied, because he was in fact, quite a romantic at heart -- but Will knew this about him. 

He also knew that the symbolism of the rings was much more important to Hannibal than it was to him. He would know in his heart that Hannibal was his, and a ring was irrelevant really. 

“We can get whatever you like. I promise, I’ll love it.”

Hannibal studied the case intently, but Will could see a broad smile blooming on his face.

The woman smiled and said, “I’ll leave you two to browse and just let me know when you’d like to see something. My name is Maria.”

“Thank you, Maria,” Hannibal replied.

They perused the case for a few minutes, then Hannibal sighed. “None of these will do. Should we go to another shop, perhaps?”

“If you want to. What don’t you like about these?” Will asked.

“They… don’t speak to me, about us. About what we are.”

“They don’t have a mouth,” Will teased.

Hannibal hit Will gently on the hand, “Insolent.”

Maria approached them and said, “May I show you something I think you’ll like? It’s not vintage, but rather one our original designs. Do you like signet rings?”

“I’m not sure,” Will said not knowing exactly what a signet ring was.

Hannibal’s interest was piqued. “Do you have some?”

She pulled out a tray of rings from a small safe underneath the case. “My husband is a master jewelry and he studied for three years in London to design these. These are his original creations.”

In the tray were several engraved gemstone signets rings in various precious metals. Some were engraved with a full coat of arms, another had a lion crest seal engraved onto bloodstone, some had a heraldic crest engraved on blue sardonyx.

“Gemstone engraving is an ancient, extremely rare and somewhat time-consuming craft,” Maria said. “We’re very proud of the work on these.”

“They’re lovely,” Will said as he picked one and held it up to look at it against his skin.

Hannibal hummed, but didn’t say anything. His eyes swept across the tray, examining and picturing them on his hand and Will’s hand.

“Well?” Will asked.

Just then, Hannibal saw it. 

He saw it and he knew. It was a white and red sardonyx oval-shaped stone ring set in yellow gold. The engraving on top was of a stag sitting underneath a tree.

“I love that one,” Maria said. “My husband designed that one last year, but we have yet to sell it.”

Will looked over to Hannibal, and was momentarily taken aback when he saw the stag on the ring. It seemed the stag was destined to follow him everywhere.

“You like that one?” Will asked.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Sardonyx is a stone of strength and protection,” Maria said. “They say it brings lasting happiness and stability to marriage and partnerships.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Will mused.

Hannibal took Will’s hand and slipped the ring onto Will’s finger. It fit, of course. 

“A stag is the king of the forest, the protector of all other creatures. I will protect you, keep you from harm, just as you will protect me. Always. This is my design.”

Will nodded and the two looked into each other’s eyes, momentarily lost in the moment, and in one another. 

Hannibal cleared his throat and said, “I’ll take this one, and would also like to commission another identical one in my size, please.”

“Of course. I’ll start the paperwork,” Maria said then walked away.

Will looked at the ring on his finger, how at home it seemed; how perfect it was-- it all was. _Yes, yes, yes_ , he thought. 

He then looked at Hannibal and said, “This is our design.”


End file.
